


Tired of Waiting

by Velika_Azure_Wing



Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Chess, Coming Out, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Romance, Trans Charles Xavier, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25527307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velika_Azure_Wing/pseuds/Velika_Azure_Wing
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Kudos: 32





	Tired of Waiting

Charles hated to admit it, but he was in love. This terrible, wonderful man who was so full of pain and anger but retained such capacity for good and love had stolen his heart. Fortunately for him, or perhaps unfortunately, Eric reciprocated his feelings. 

They had shared a few intimate moments. They were spending more time in each other's heads. They had even kissed a few times. Eric had expressed a desire to go further but Charles had stopped it every time. 

He felt guilty about it, and he certainly wasn't stopping because he wanted to. Oh no, he was just as enticed to a more intimate relationship as Eric was. There was just one problem. It was the 60s and Charles was transgender. 

He had no idea how Eric would react and he was terrified to find out. He could just look in his mind and see, but that would be overly intrusive and take some digging. Charles knew he could go the more obvious route of telling Eric, but in truth he didn't want to know the answer. Eric had been accepting of every minority group they'd come across so far. He was in several of them himself, but there was a world of different in public perception between being gay and being transgender. So, Charles kept it to himself. Despite what Eric thought, he was good at keeping secrets.

They sat across from each other, playing their usual game of chess. Eric had a perfectly manicured expression on his face as he evaluated the board. He had just finished moving a piece that Charles hadn't anticipated and now he was facing the temptation to look into Eric's mind and see what he was planning. 

"Are you going to do something, or are we just going to sit here in silence?" Eric asks. 

Charles looks up at him and smirks. "That's hardly fair. I never complained the last time you took forever to make up your mind." 

Eric leans forward. "No, but I think the waiting was for the both of us, but I'm tired of waiting." 

"Excuse me?" Charles asks. 

'Why won't you talk to me? You know you can talk to me,' Eric projects his thoughts, knowing Charles will hear them.

Charles sits back uncomfortably. "Would you like a drink?" He asks as he moves his wheelchair in the direction of the liquor cabinet. "I think I want a drink. A nice scotch sounds lovely at this time of evening, don't you think?" 

"Charles," Eric says. 

Charles stops himself mid and turns his wheelchair to face Eric again. He looks into those eyes, the eyes of a friend, a lover, and an enemy, and he curses himself for getting stuck in this predicament. He absentmindedly rubs the back of his neck while looking anywhere but the man in front of him. 

"I don't know how to say it," He finally whispers. 

"Do you- am I not-" Eric stumbles over his words, unsure how ask but Charles picks up the question anyway. 

"No, Eric, you're wonderful and I would very much love to sleep with you, but there's something that happened, something about me that we need to talk about." He reassures him.

"Did someone hurt you?" Eric asks softly, and his voice is so gentle that Charles could almost cry.

"No," He responds. "No it's not anything any one else did. It's me. It's what I am."

"I don't understand. Is this about your telepathy or because of the paralysis?" Eric asks. "Because if it is, we can figure it out I'm sure. It's not like we'd be the first in either regard." 

Charles laughs, despite himself. "No, it's not either of those. I trust our creativity enough for that." 

"Then what is it?" Eric asks and Charles takes a deep breath. 

"I haven't been honest with you," he says. 

Eric sits back in his chair and watches him intently. Charles can see the doubt and confusion on his face.

"I should have told you sooner, or I should never have allowed it to get this far but should haves aren't going to save us, I'm afraid. When I was born..." Charles stops himself and puts a finger to his lips as he thinks. 

"Charles, whatever it is, you know it won't change things between us." Eric reaches out for Charles's hand. 

Charles takes his hand. "I'm not sure I can say all this. I'm not sure I have the words. Can I show you?"

Eric pauses then nods. Charles reaches out with his other hand and puts his fingers to Eric's temple. Eric's eyes widen as the memories flash behind his eyes. 

He sees a child forced to wear dresses despite how awful they make him feel. He sees this child step forward and tell his family that he is their son. He sees the tearful night with Raven as they wish their powers for each other. He sees the reaction of the boy's parents, the sorrow, the confusion, the anger. The boy's father hits him and his mother says he'd be better off dead then a thing like this. The boy makes them forget they ever knew, but he knows and he can't forget. Then they die, and though he mourns, the boy knows it's his chance to reinvent himself. He gets medical help from doctors who will keep quiet or forget they ever knew him. Eric sees the transformation of this boy to his true self, and the vision fades, leaving him no where to look but at the man this boy became. 

"Oh," He whispers. 

Charles looks down at his lap and moves to let go of Eric's hand but Eric stops him.

"I knew people like you, in the camps. I didn't understand it until now but I knew they didn't deserve what happened to them and I know you didn't either," Eric says. "I'm sorry your parents couldn't see you." 

Charles looks up. "Thank you, Eric. You have a good heart, but I didn't know."

"I know. I understand."

Charles smiles and moves a chess piece, taking one of Eric's. "I'm tired of waiting too." 

Eric grins and moves around the board to kiss him. "Let's get creative, shall we?"


End file.
